{"id":577555,"date":"2026-04-01T02:10:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T02:10:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/577555\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T02:10:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T02:10:18","slug":"tom-sargent-signs-with-top-european-le-mans-series-team-proton-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/577555\/","title":{"rendered":"Tom Sargent signs with top European Le Mans Series team Proton Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Sargent
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Proton Competition Porsche 911 GT3 R that Tom Sargent will race in the European Le Mans Series.<\/p>\n

Sargent will join Porsche factory driver Richard Lietz and Matt Kurzejewski in a 911 GT3 R.<\/p>\n

The six-round series will take Sargent to Barcelona in Spain, Paul Ricard in France, Imola in Italy, Spa in Belgium, Silverstone in the United Kingdom, and Portimao in Portugal.<\/p>\n

Every race of the European Le Mans Series is a four-hour affair.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a big milestone for me,\u201d said Sargent.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo go and race in Europe and experience these tracks is something I\u2019ve always wanted to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels similar to when I first came to the US and started ticking off those circuits. Now I get to do that again in Europe, and that\u2019s really special.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve already been fortunate to sample a couple of these venues, and just arriving at places you\u2019ve watched on TV for years is incredible.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a pretty surreal feeling, and it\u2019s going to be a big step in my development as a driver.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Proton Competition Porsche 911 GT3 R that Tom Sargent will race in the European Le Mans Series.<\/p>\n

Sargent, who is a Porsche Motorsport North America Selected Driver, said the opportunity to race alongside Leitz would be beneficial for his development.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be paired with someone like Richard is huge,\u201d said Sargent.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe brings so much experience and knowledge, and having that around you is invaluable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019ve got a really strong lineup, and I\u2019m looking forward to what we can achieve together.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been able to work with Matt now for a few days, and he has been great.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe clicked straight away, and I really like working with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Proton Competition Porsche 911 GT3 R that Tom Sargent will race in the European Le Mans Series.<\/p>\n

Sargent\u2019s Porsche 911 GT3 R will carry a livery celebrating 75 years of the brand in motorsport.<\/p>\n

The design is inspired by the Porsche 356 SL, which brought the marque its first class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1951.<\/p>\n

Porsche said the design is \u201cdeliberately minimalistic\u201d and takes a \u201cfunctional approach\u201d with its entirely silver scheme.<\/p>\n

\u201cA classic silver base forms the foundation of the livery, mirroring the understated look of its historic predecessor,\u201d Porsche said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlong the sides, the iconic round number panel returns as a clear nod to Porsche\u2019s early motorsport identity, now featuring the number \u201c75\u201d to mark the anniversary.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo bridge past and present, the design also integrates elements from Porsche\u2019s modern GT3 R communication livery, incorporating its distinctive pattern into the overall scheme.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe result is a cohesive visual identity that reflects 75 years of Porsche Motorsport evolution \u2013 combining tradition with modern GT3 performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Proton Competition Porsche 911 GT3 R that Tom Sargent will race in the European Le Mans Series.<\/p>\n

The announcement comes just two days after securing his first GT World Challenge America win in the Pro-Am class at Sonoma with GMG Racing and co-driver Kyle Washington.<\/p>\n

He recently scored his first Sebring 12 Hours class podium with GTD team Wright Motorsports, finishing third.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a really exciting year already,\u201d Sargent said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe GT World Challenge program has been a great platform, especially with the longer race format.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re learning how to manage races differently, how to work with your team over a longer stint, and that all ties directly into what I\u2019ll be doing in ELMS.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat Sebring podium felt like a win for us. It\u2019s such a tough race, physically and mentally, and to come away with a result like that meant a lot to everyone involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sargent hailed the Porsche pyramid for getting him to the point of being a selected driver.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Porsche Pyramid really works,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was able to get to GT3 level a lot quicker than I expected, and without that program, I wouldn\u2019t be in this position.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be recognized as a Selected Driver and continue that relationship is something I\u2019m really proud of. The goal is to keep building, keep improving, and stay within Porsche long-term.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bit of a pinch-me moment. A few years ago, I was towing my own car to local tracks in Australia. Now I\u2019m racing in the US and Europe in top-level GT3 competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it just motivates you more. You want to keep pushing, keep improving, and make the most of every opportunity. This year is a big step, and I\u2019m excited to see where it leads.\u201d<\/p>\n

The European Le Mans Series begins on April 12 with the 4 Hours of Barcelona.<\/p>\n

2026 European Le Mans Series calendar
12 April \u2013 4 Hours of Barcelona (Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain)
3 May \u2013 4 Hours of Le Castellet (Circuit Paul Ricard, France)
5 July \u2013 4 Hours of Imola (Imola Circuit, Italy)
23 August \u2013 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium)
13 September \u2013 4 Hours of Silverstone (Silverstone Circuit, United Kingdom)
10 October \u2013 4 Hours of Portim\u00e3o (Algarve International Circuit, Portugal)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Proton Competition Porsche 911 GT3 R that Tom Sargent will race in the European Le Mans Series.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":577556,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,806,805,803,804,85,283324],"class_list":{"0":"post-577555","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-motosport","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-motor","11":"tag-motor-sports","12":"tag-motosport","13":"tag-motosports","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-tom-sargent"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=577555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/577556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=577555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=577555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=577555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}